The Mitchell River House was full of avid readers as they eagerly waited to hear about Ecuadorian author Zoraida Córdova’s writing process and inspiration for her novel, “The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina,” this year’s One Story, One City selection, on Saturday evening in Canyon Country.
The One Story, One City series returned for its 10th annual installment with a month-long lineup of events designed to ignite a love for reading, according to a city news release.
A highlight of the annual program is an intimate, sit-down discussion with the featured author, offering book enthusiasts a unique opportunity to connect, gain insights, and explore the story firsthand.
Córdova, who has written more than two dozen novels and short stories including “Valentina Salazar Is Not a Monster Hunter,” and “Star Wars: The High Republic Convergence” among other works, was this year’s featured author for her magical realism novel “The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina.”
In an interview conducted by city librarian Morgan Lazo, Córdova shared insights into her writing process, inspirations, and how her upbringing as a Latina has shaped her perspective as a writer.
“I really love writing about magical women, girls who make mistakes. I love putting my culture in everything,” she said during the interview, as about 40 guests listened. “My grandmother was a storyteller, and I think that’s where I got my love of stories, and thankfully, when I was 13 years old, I decided I wanted to be a writer.”
Published in 2021, the novel follows the journey of the Montoya family as they seek answers as to how they developed “strange abilities” after their matriarch, Orquedia Divina, turns into a ceiba tree.
As a mysterious figure begins to hunt the Montoya family, they must travel to the country of Ecuador, “where Orquídea’s past holds the key to their survival,” the news release stated.
The story idea was first developed in 2016, and took a total of three years to complete, Córdova said, and explores deep connections between family members and the burdens and blessings of inheritance, the theme of magic, identity and self-discovery, among others.
Córdova only hopes “that all of you take away the idea that people are really complex, and sometimes you don’t really know what’s going on in their life, or who they were [in the past],” she said as she spoke toward the gathered guests. This theme resonates with her own personal upbringing, and family members who wouldn’t often speak about their past.
As her first adult novel, Córdova said it was a bigger challenge to write, as she was only familiar with writing teen novels that are “very linear, everything makes complete sense from beginning to end.”
For this book, “I printed out a lot of calendar formats so I knew when things happened [in the book], so that was the part that was difficult to keep track of,” due to the more complex timeline and plot.
Still, Córdova embraced her creative process and, “on the first draft, I just let myself write the book,” she added.
As the interview came to a conclusion, readers were given the chance to ask their own questions to further the discussion, which was followed with a book signing.
One attendee asked for advice completing their first novel.
“Whenever I struggle to finish something, or when I slow down, is because I don’t know what happens next. The thing that helps me is rereading things I love, watching movies that I love, and taking a really long walk,” Córdova said. “I really think the best when I’m not sitting at my desk.”
Caroline Vasquez, who attended the event, said she first came across Córdova in 2017 for her work “Labyrinth Lost,” and enjoyed reading the teen novel.
Although she was only halfway through “The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina” she appreciated the family dynamics and the characters’ “complicated relationships with each other. They’re different and I like the ways that the big families reuniting can draw some good memories, some bad memories, but you kind of learn a lot about them,” she said.
Vasquez also appreciated Córdova’s way of blending realism with fantasy.
“The real world can seem a bit boring and mundane, but the way that she writes real places with magic in them, or places that feel like they could be real,” is one of the many reasons Vasquez has enjoyed the book, she said. “If you are somebody who has, like, a big family with a lot of interesting stories, or you like finding magic in unexpected places, this might be a good read.”
Attendee Cathy Fratello, who makes it a goal to read the One Story, One City selection every year, also liked similar themes to Vasquez.
“I really like learning about the culture and the family’s stories,” she said. “There’s so many different family members, so it’s very involved. I thought she did an incredible job. I thought the usage of magic realism was very interesting and fascinating,” she added.
The evening concluded with Córdova meeting book enthusiasts and signing copies of her work. She also shared details about her upcoming novel, “Fall of the Rebel Angels,” a love story about a woman accused of murdering her former lover and a fallen angel cursed to search for his wings on Earth. It is scheduled to be released next year, she said.
